Terms of Reference, TOR for International Technical Assistance

Job Title:Technical Assistance to establish the referral system within and from the community and PHC facilities to other levels and to develop the monitoring guidelines the referral system

With a land area of 1.8 million square kilometers, traversed by the Nile and its tributaries, Sudan shares its borders with Southern Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad, Libya, Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia. The country is composed of 18 states and 184 localities (PHC mapping 2011).  It has access to the Red Sea with a long coastline. Its terrain is generally flat, with mountains in northeast and west, while desert dominates the north. It has a population of 34 million, 88% of which is settled. The population is distributed as follows: 32.7% in urban areas, 67% in rural areas, 8% of them are nomads

Sudan health system is a three-tier system: Federal level, State and locality levels with specific terms of reference for each. Within the public sector, service delivery is organized at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Primary care is provided through 5084 health facilities (Family Health Centers and Family Health Units) and by Community Health Workers (1508 CHWs) and Village Midwives (12253 VMWs) at the community level. (Source PHC mapping 2011/2012).   

The Consultant will write the final draft report and submit it to the MCH along with documentation of the entire process and disseminate the findings. The main responsibility of this position is to ensure that the advisory technical assistance maintains an effective, efficient referral system while developing these guidelines and avoid use of parallel systems and build on existing structures

The referral system must also take into account local demographic characteristics and burden of diseases as well as the level of development of the state’s health system. This varies greatly between the states in SUDAN. Factors that must be considered include issues related to distance and roads, specific factors related to socio-economic context of the area. The availability, capacity and cost of existing state referral facilities are crucial.

MCH shall Identify and pay resource person(s) to do the following tasks:

1. According to regional and international service packages she/he will do situation analysis to the existing referral system this assessment aims to understand referral systems from the community to the first-level health facility and g
2. ather information about the situation at each facility, lessons learned and current challenges. It will also map existing referral services and analyze their feasibility, cost-effectiveness, responsiveness, and sustainability.
3. Develop referral  system from the community(midwifes, community health workers) and PHC facilities to other levels
4. Develop the standards and guidelines for implementation of the referral system within the  health  facility and community
5. Develop training package for the midwifes, community health workers and PHC facility personnel on the developed  referral  system
6. Develop the standards and guidelines for monitoring and evaluation of the referral system
7. prepare activity schedule, document related to the work and supervise the piloting implementation activities
8. conduct piloting of the referral system in 2 localities at least
9. The Consultant will write the final draft, submit it to the MCH along with documentation of the entire process

Deliverables:

• The expected deliverables are both in English and Arabic. Deliverables include:
• Developed  referral  system with reporting format
• Developed Standards of practices (SOPs) guidelines for referral  system
• Referral  system is in place in 2 localities
• Developed  reporting format for the monitoring and evaluation of  the referral  system

Minimum Qualification, Skills and Experience Required:

• Advanced university degree in Medicine, Public Health or other related field. 
• Relevant experience in the field of MCH with a minimum of 5 years with experience in health system formulation
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic language
• Good computer skills ( Microsoft word, Excel & PowerPoint)
• Should be competent and effective as a facilitator
• Has previous M&E experience.
• Have submitted previous monitoring and evaluation final reports.
• Able to work with tight time schedule
• Cooperative, has a good communication skills and able to work with other members of the team.

The amount requested to cover this consultancy will be paid in the following schedule:

• Payment of 25% of total amount upon signature, and 75% of total amount upon submission of the complete accepted final deliverables.

Please send your CV, Application letter and credentials by email to:

doaa.hakeem@gmail.com  or  by hand to general directorate of Mother and Child Health (MCH)directorate( Doaa Mustafa Elhakeem) –Jamma  street